Families attending the markup wore pink tags to show their support of Murphy’s bill (Photo by D. J. Jaffe)

On Tuesday (11-10-15), I posted a blog by mental health advocate Leah Harris who opposes Rep. Tim Murphy’s Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act , which is making its way through the legislative process. Today, D. J. Jaffe, a strong supporter of the bill, writes about last week’s subcommittee markup session and why he believes Murphy’s bill should be approved without amendments.

Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act passes first hurdle

By DJ Jaffe, Executive Director, Mental Illness Policy Org.

The Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act (HR2646) was passed by the Health Subcommittee last week. (Unamended version here) But sitting in the room watching, was like attending two separate plays going on simultaneously. One play, about substantive ways to help the most seriously mentally ill was put on by Republicans. Democrats put on the other play. It demonstrated how little they know about serious mental illness and how far they had been misled by the mental health industry. It pains me to say that because I am a Democrat.

The Substance of the Bill

Historically, mental health bills in Congress have thrown money at politically correct, feel-good programs that let mental health industry engage in easy and palatable tasks like “reducing stigma,” “education” or “improving mental health,” but rarely deliver actual treatment to adults with serious mental illness. HR2646 has provisions to improve mental health, but it also has five provisions that start to focus government programs on delivering treatment to adults with serious mental illness. And that makes it important and different. If families of the most seriously ill continue to speak-out, this could be the beginning of a shift towards helping seriously ill adults after decades of shunning them. The support for the shift is coming primarily from Republicans who want to reduce crime, incarceration and tragedies. Democrats tend to avoid those issues for fear of causing stigma. They have been taught to ignore unpleasant truths like not everyone recovers, sometimes hospitals are needed, some seriously ill need the help of families, and yes, left untreated, those with serious mental illness are more violent than others. Following is a preliminary analysis of how the five most important provisions came out of the markup, followed by a discussion of what went on at the hearing.

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Let’s not forget on this important day that Disney Media Networks and ABC Television executives referred to our veterans, who developed Post Traumatic Stress and other mental issues while defending our freedom, as “nut jobs” and “wackos.”

That’s right. Just last month, Paul Lee, the head of ABC Entertainment Group, which oversees the television network ABC and its production arm ABC Studios, ignored requests by the nation’s six largest mental health groups to not broadcast an offensive Halloween episode of Modern Family that belittled Americans with mental illnesses.

Instead, Lee and his cohorts promoted stigma, which often keeps veterans from seeking help. Lee’s answer to serious mental health issues, such as PTS, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, was to give a person a “box of Cap’n Crunch and let (him/her) stare at a fish tank” or send them off to a “looney bin.” Hilarious!

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Last week’s subcommittee markup of Rep. Tim Murphy’s Helping Families In Mental Health Crisis Act is a step forward in the legislative process that ultimately could restructure our mental health care system. I asked two advocates with opposing points of view to share their thoughts about the more than ten hour markup session and explain why they are either against or support Murphy’s bill. Today (Tuesday – 11-10-15), I am posting a blog by Leah Harris, who opposes the Murphy bill. On Thursday (11-12-15), I will publish a blog written by D. J. Jaffe, who is a staunch supporter. I am grateful to Leah and D. J. for articulating their much different perspectives.

Change is a Choice: Reflections on the Markup of the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act

By Leah Harris, Campaign for Real Change in Mental Health Policy

“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive.” — C. S. Lewis

I spent several hours reviewing the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee markup of “The Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis” Act (H.R. 2646). Some supporters of the Murphy Bill claim that Democratic objections to the bill should be dismissed as typical partisan wrangling. But this markup was much less a matter of partisan politics and much more a question of just how to fix our broken system. It is a battle about resources: whether to focus on funding a few costly, late-stage crisis interventions that only apply to a very small subset of people, or to reform the system from the ground up with a focus on preventing the very crises that the bill purports to address. It is a battle between outdated, authoritarian approaches to care, versus collaborative, person-centered approaches that represent the latest in science and good medicine.

At the markup, Democrats put forward the same arguments against the bill that have been made by mental health service users and advocates since the first version of the legislation was introduced in December 2013. The laundry list of objections to the bill are far too numerous to reiterate in this piece, but can be found  here  and  here. Arguments against the Murphy bill have rarely been heard in the mainstream media, which overwhelmingly endorse the bill and fail to include critical perspectives. For this reason, I was heartened to see clear critiques of the bill finally make it into the public record.

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Brain Wilson, Paul Dano, Al Jardine

It’s been quite a week.

Rep. Tim Murphy’s backers claimed victory in first markup round,  Patrick Kennedy called on Republicans and Democrats to stop partisan squabbling, and the Tampa Bay Times & Herald Tribune published an alarming investigative series about Florida’s unsafe state mental hospitals.

Oh yeah, legendary Beach Boy Brian Wilson also was in town.  Here’s a recap.

TAC Declares Victory

*”A Major Victory for Mental Health Reform,” The Treatment Advocacy Center declared after Wednesday’s exhaustive markup session for Rep. Tim Murphy’s Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act (HR2646). “After nearly 12 hours in markup, the bill was moved to the Energy and Commerce Committee with a bipartisan vote of 18 ayes and 12 nays. All provisions to help the most severely mentally ill remain.” 

You might recall that the Treatment Advocacy Center, which was created by mental health lightening rod Dr. E. Fuller Torrey, has played an ongoing and powerful role in the drafting of Murphy’s bill.

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(Updated 11:30 am Thursday)

As expected, Democratic opponents to Rep. Tim Murphy’s Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act objected strongly Wednesday to the bill as written and introduced a slew of amendments in what turned into an exhausting hearing.  Those amendments were rejected. (See Shannon Muchmore’s story below)

I will post further reviews and analysis shortly. Meanwhile, you can watch the entire hearing above. Skip the first 36 minutes and 47 seconds in the first video. Yep, that’s all it takes for the  subcommittee to approve several other bills. And then the Pennsylvania Republican’s legislation  is brought before the subcommittee and the arguing starts and continues and continues and continues.

Although these two videos add up to ten hours, they are interesting to watch because viewers get to hear the differing views. From the subcommittee markup, Murphy’s bill goes to a full committee markup where attempts to change it will be made once again. Then, if it passes from the committee to the House floor, it will face more potential changes. From there, it will go to a committee to be merged with the Senate version, where it will face more potential changes.

Meaning, this is simply the first round.

Grab some popcorn,  several drinks, find a comfortable seat and watch our elected leaders all agree that our mental health system is a complete mess, but disagree completely on how to fix it.

Here is a report from Modern Healthcare reporter Shannon Muchmore.

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The House began marking up Rep. Tim Murphy’s Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis  Act Tuesday afternoon along party lines, with Democrats attacking the Pennsylvania Republican’s bill.
I’ve posted the entire hearing above, but all you have to do is watch the opening statement by Texas Democrat Gene Green followed by a statement by Murphy to see how the two sides differ.
On Wednesday, the Democrats will begin offering amendments and there was speculation late today that the opponents will add so many changes that  the bill will be withdrawn.

Here’s a list of key players.

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